TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Ryan Williams stood in a white Alabama football t-shirt with a silver chain and a silver cross around his neck, looking every bit of 17 years old. On Saturday night, 30 minutes after thrilling roughly 100,000 people in Bryant-Denny Stadium and captivating millions more on TV with an astonishing 75-yard game-winning touchdown catch, a big grin never left his face.
Surrounded by media in the modest Alabama press room, Williams looked like a little kid, a wildly talented little kid who couldn’t wait to talk and smile and laugh about the biggest moment in a life that is sure to have many, many more.
“It just feels like a dream,” said Williams, who had six catches for 177 yards as the Tide delivered their home fans the rarest of wins around here — an upset.
Williams’ spectacular play with 2:18 to go gave Alabama a 41-34 advantage and came one play after Alabama gave back all of its 28-0 lead. But the Tide needed one more play to seal the victory, and that came from yet another freshman.
With Georgia at the Alabama 34-yard-line in the final minute, Zabian Brown finally ended the instant classic with a beautiful interception in the end zone. Like Williams, Brown wears No. 2. And also like Williams, he wasn’t afraid of the spotlight.
“Guys being ready whenever their opportunity comes, that’s something we talk about,” said Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, who seemingly does nothing but win games no matter where he is. “They were ready.”
The win was Alabama’s sixth in seven tries against Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs, a trend that has not stopped despite Nick Saban watching from a luxury suite instead of the sideline. The Tide are undefeated, while Georgia falls to 3-1, but there is a feeling in the air these two will meet again in December or January.
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How wild was Saturday night? It has taken this long to mention the name Jalen Milroe, who, according to ESPN’s Cole Cubelic, became the first player in the AP poll era to throw for over 300 yards, and rush for over 100 yards and two touchdowns against a top 5 opponent. The Alabama quarterback’s final line – 27-for-33, 374 yards, two touchdowns, 117 rushing yards and two additional touchdowns, were every bit as impressive on the field as they are on the computer screen.
.@AlabamaFTBL QB Jalen Milroe is the 1st player in AP poll history with 300 yards passing, 100 yards rushing & 2 rushing TD’s vs a top-5 opponent.
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) September 29, 2024
He did everything he needed to do on Alabama’s first four drives of the night. He was beating Georgia with his legs, with his reads and with his arm. Alabama committed five penalties on offense in the first half. Didn’t matter. Nothing was stopping the Tide, who rolled up 361 first-half yards against a defense that had yet to surrender a touchdown in 2024. It was 30-7 and it felt over.
Milroe was the fastest player on the field, which is saying something against a Georgia defense that features speed on top of speed. His shake of an unblocked Christen Miller led to Georgia’s first touchdown. Other scrambles led to first downs. When Georgia played a soft zone, he threw underneath. When Georgia went man, Milroe threw deep. The Bulldogs had no answer, and No. 4 in crimson kept himself on the September Heisman lists.
But Georgia refused to go away. The Bulldogs converted four fourth downs over two touchdown drives in the third quarter to cut the lead to 33-21, then tacked on two more touchdowns, the final one of which was a 67-yard catch-and-run by Dillon Bell that gave Georgia its brief lead.
When Bama returned to the field, Milroe knew he just needed to give Williams a chance if he was in a one-on-one situation. Earlier in the game, Williams made a juggling catch on a deep ball that almost resulted in a touchdown. When Milroe saw the coverage, he was ready to go back to the newcomer.
“This week, we talked about eye discipline and giving our guys a chance,” Milroe said. “When I saw we had one-on-one, it was all about eye discipline and reading the play properly and giving the guy a chance.”
Beck’s final drive came up empty, but he showed serious fight when the white towel could have been thrown. He finished 27 for 50 for 439 yards and three touchdowns, but he also had three interceptions, a fumble, and a safety due to an intentional grounding. Still, you rally a team to the lead after trailing 28-0 on Nick Saban Field, you’ve done something right, and now Georgia knows it will never be out of a game as it navigates the ridiculous gauntlet of facing Texas, Ole Miss and Tennessee in the next seven weeks.
For the Crimson Tide, and especially DeBoer, they passed the first crucial test in Year One After Saban. They showed how dominant they can be, but also pulled out a clutch game within the same 60 minutes.
“We expect to win these games,” DeBoer said. “Of course, there’s a lot of excitement in the locker room, but we want to understand this is the expectation. We have a lot of season left. We want to make sure we can handle success.”
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